Under The Roof
Under The Roof
Podcast Description
Under The Roof is the official podcast of Baker Roofing Company, where we bring the heartbeat of our 110+ legacy straight to the ears of our people. Hosted by Todd Kavanaugh and Matt Elban, this show is all about building connections from the rooftop to the boardroom.
Each episode features honest conversations, company updates, safety wins, lessons learned, and real stories from across the Baker family, both in the field and in the office.
Whether you're on a job site or behind a desk, Under The Roof brings leadership insight, human stories, and the values that set Baker apart, like our promise to always do good work.
Tune in to hear how we’re growing, learning, and living out the culture that makes Baker Roofing more than just a workplace. It's where careers grow, people come first, and safety and quality are non-negotiable.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes such as employee ownership, leadership insights, company culture, and safety practices. For example, episodes explore topics like the transition to employee ownership through an ESOP, the importance of company values like 'Always Good Work', and real stories highlighting safety wins and lessons learned from both field and office perspectives.
Under The Roof is the official podcast of Baker Roofing Company, where we bring the heartbeat of our 110+ legacy straight to the ears of our people. Hosted by Todd Kavanaugh and Matt Elban, this show is all about building connections from the rooftop to the boardroom.
Each episode features honest conversations, company updates, safety wins, lessons learned, and real stories from across the Baker family, both in the field and in the office.
Whether you’re on a job site or behind a desk, Under The Roof brings leadership insight, human stories, and the values that set Baker apart, like our promise to always do good work.
Tune in to hear how we’re growing, learning, and living out the culture that makes Baker Roofing more than just a workplace. It’s where careers grow, people come first, and safety and quality are non-negotiable.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why Brian walked away from a strong private equity offer to protect culture and employees
- How Precision Walls diversified from less than 2% outside drywall to nearly half of revenue across other divisions
- What changes on job sites when people start thinking like owners
- Why it takes about four years for many employees to truly believe ESOP ownership is real
- How education and repeated communication create real ESOP alignment
- What Brian would do differently in the early years of an ESOP rollout
- Why “sign your name to it” creates pride, accountability, and better quality
- How ESOPs help create real wealth-building for field employees over a long career
- Why customer relationships, safety, schedule, and quality deserve priority thinking not just budget pressure
- What servant leadership looks like when you stop relying on title and start earning trust
- [00:00] Introduction
- [01:03] Meet Brian Allen: President and CEO of Precision Walls
- [03:13] Growing Up with “No Such Thing as Good Enough”
- [04:56] Building a Top 10 Specialty Contractor: From Drywall to Diversification
- [10:21] The ESOP Decision: Rejecting Private Equity for Employee Ownership
- [13:44] Addressing Fear: How to Communicate ESOP to Shareholders and Employees
- [15:54] Real Stories: Field Supervision Making Long-Term Decisions
- [17:07] The “Sign Your Name” Quality Commitment Framework
- [19:05] Why Brian Joined Baker’s ESOP Board as Independent Member
- [20:18] Early ESOP Success: Education, Timing, and Share Sustainability
- [23:21] ESOPs vs. Private Equity: Why Employee Ownership Wins Long-Term
- [25:02] Vision for Baker Roofing: Service Growth and Frontline Intelligence Sharing
- [29:05] Collective Ownership: The Power of Aligned Employee-Owners
- [30:24] Servant Leadership: Leading Through Belief, Not Title
- [31:34] Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts
Disclaimer
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